Monitoring Desk
Twelve security personnel were martyred in two separate attacks in Balochistan’s Gwadar district and the North Waziristan tribal district, according to media reports.
In the first incident, at least six security personnel were martyred in a militant attack on a convoy of state-run Oil & Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL) on the Makran Coastal Highway in Ormara, Balochistan on Thursday, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
The security personnel lost their lives when terrorists opened fire on them on the highway in Gwadar.
Security forces cordoned off the area and started a search operation, the report said.
Prime Minister Imran Khan in a statement condemned the attack on the OGDCL convoy and sought a report into the incident, according to another Radio Pakistan report.
The premier expressed grief with the families of the martyred personnel of security agencies.
شمالی وزیرستان میں سیکیورٹی فورسز اور مکران کوسٹل ہائی وے پر او جی ڈی سی ایل قافلے پر حملوں کی شدید مذمت کرتے ہیں۔ملکی سلامتی اور دفاع وطن پر جاں نثار کرنے والے شہداء ہمارا فخر وغرور ہیں۔ بچے کھچے دہشت گرد بھی اپنے انجام کو پہنچیں گے۔اللہ تعالی شہداء کے درجات بلند فرمائے۔
— Senator Shibli Faraz (@shiblifaraz) October 15, 2020
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani in a tweet said the attack on law-enforcement personnel was “a clear sign the enemy does not want Balochistan and its people to prosper”.
Commenting on the incident, Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) and Narcotics Control Shehryar Afridi said “while Pakistan is fast achieving peace & CPEC [is] transforming Pakistan into [a] vibrant economy, India-backed terrorists are making last-ditch effort to destabilise peace and development in Balochistan.”
“Terrorism can’t raise its head and enemy would fail again,” he added.
According to English newspaper, Daily Dawn, last year in April, at least 14 people, including 11 personnel of Navy, Air Force and Coast Guards, were killed by gunmen after they were picked out with the help of their computerised national identity cards (CNICs) and offloaded from seven buses in the Buzi Pass area near Ormara.
The incident had taken place on the Makran Coastal Highway linking Karachi with the port city of Gwadar. The buses were going to Gwadar from Karachi.
In the second incident, six Pakistan Army personnel were martyred in a “terrorist” bomb attack near Razmak area of North Waziristan, the military’s media wing said on Thursday.
It said a convoy of security forces was attacked through an improvised explosive device (IED), resulting in the martyrdom of one officer and five soldiers.
The martyred personnel were identified by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) as Capt Umar Farooq, aged 24 years; Naib Subedar Riaz Ahmed, aged 37 years; Naib Subedar Shakeel Azad, aged 44; Havaldar Younas Khan, 36; Naik Muhammad Nadeem, 37; and Lance Naik Asmat Ullah, aged 30 years.
‘Encounters’ between security forces and militants have frequently been taking place in North Waziristan. Security forces have killed several suspected hardcore terrorists in recent clashes.
The latest incident comes four days after two soldiers were martyred and three others sustained injuries in an attack on a security post in Shawal valley of North Waziristan.
Officials said militants attacked the post in the Manra Mendara area adjacent to South Waziristan district. They said militants fired rockets in the pre-dawn attack on the post which left two soldiers martyred and three others wounded.
